Ferdinand played for the reserves on Wednesday night against Oldham, the first time the defender had been in action since he suffered a major knee ligament injury in a freak collision with Emile Heskey on day one of World Cup training with England in South Africa.

Anderson, who played 90 minutes in the Oldham game, and Neville are also close to making their United comebacks after spells on the sidelines, and Giggs told United's official website: "The squad is looking really strong.

"We've got Rio to come back in, Nev hasn't played yet, and Anderson is back too. So it's looking really good."

United confirmed that all of their senior players, apart from those out on loan, had been registered with the Premier League ahead of yesterday's squad list deadline - including Owen Hargreaves, who has struggled for fitness over the last two years.

Giggs believes the number of players available to manager Sir Alex Ferguson may make team selection difficult, but is something United will feel the benefit of over the course of the campaign.

"It's a headache for the boss, but one he would rather have than to be struggling for players," Giggs said.

"We'll need everyone because it's a long season. The manager realises that."